Art. 17 of the Ministerial Instructions on ICT Procurement denotes that all Government IT systems and applications that provide critical Government data shall be hosted in the National Data Center (NDC). Similarly, Art. 18 of the Ministerial Instruction on ICT states that Government institutions that host applications in their own data centers shall obtain backup services from the NDC.

Art. 16 of the Regulation Governing Telecom Network Security of 2016 restricts telecommunication service providers from transferring, storing or processing subscribers information outside of the Republic of Rwanda.
In 2017, Rwanda’s telecommunications regulator fined MTN Rwanda (a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group) USD 8.5 million (10% of its annual turnover) for failing to process Rwandan customer data in the country by transferring it to Uganda and for running its information technology services outside Rwanda.

It is reported that the Rwanda Utilities Regulatory Authority (RURA), the executive authority for the supervision and administration of services in the telecommunications sector, is independent from the government in the decision-making process.

Art. 3 of the Regulation on Cybersecurity states that "Any bank licensed by the Central Bank must maintain its primary data on the territory of the Republic of Rwanda."

Art. 15 of the Regulation Governing Cybersecurity states that "All networks, systems and applications of the licensee shall not be managed, hosted, remotely accessed or located outside of the Republic of Rwanda unless explicitly authorized by the Regulatory Authority." This requirement applies to all ICT infrastructure and services, which include "data, system, equipment, networks and applications" (Art. 2).
In 2017, Rwanda’s telecommunications regulator fined MTN Rwanda (a subsidiary of South Africa’s MTN Group) USD 8.5 million (10% of its annual turnover) for failing to comply with a licence condition to process Rwandan customer data in the country by transferring it to Uganda and for running its information technology services outside Rwanda.

Rwanda has not appended the World Trade Organization (WTO) Telecom Reference Paper to its schedule of commitments.

It is reported that Rwanda does not mandate functional or accounting separation for operators with significant market power (SMP) in the telecom market.

Art. 29 of the Regulation Governing Licensing in Electronic Communication highlights that a Performance bond is required to the license applicant who must pay the loss incurred by the end user or consumer as a result of the failure of the licensee to meet the license obligations. It is reported that this acts as a strict licensing requirement to obtain licences in the telecom and communication sectors, as the applicant must pay a certain amount in advance.
The performance bond applies to any applicant who:
- Providers of subscription services to end users;
- Retailers of internet services;
- Providers of prepaid services to end users;
- Any other applicant that may be considered as such by the Regulatory Authority.

It is reported that there is an obligation for passive infrastructure sharing in Rwanda to deliver telecom services to end users. It is practiced in the mobile sector and in the fixed sector based on commercial agreements.

There no comprehensive legal framework for trade secret protection in Rwanda. Limited provisions for trade secrets can be found in Law No. 31/2009 of 26/10/2009 on the Protection of Intellectual Property. According to Article 185, any act or practice, in the course of industrial or commercial activities, that results in the disclosure, acquisition, or use by others of secret information without the consent of the rightful holder and in a manner contrary to honest commercial practices constitute an act of unfair competition. Violation of acts of unfair competition is a criminal offence under Article 263.

Rwanda has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Performances and Phonograms Treaty.

Rwanda has not signed the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Copyright Treaty.

In Section 4.7 of the Guidelines for Intellectual Property Registration, it is highlighted that under the fair use doctrine governing intellectual property, it is permissible to use limited portions of a work including quotes, for purposes such as commentary, criticism, news reporting, and scholarly reports. This means anyone can use protected work for education purposes, commentary, criticism, news reporting without the consent of the right owner. The Guidelines for Intellectual Property Registration complements the different provisions of Law No. 31/2009 on the Protection of Intellectual Property in Rwanda. Arts. 203-215 of the Law provide the limitation to economic rights, including a broad list of limitations and exceptions to copyright.

It is reported that there is weak enforcement of patents' rights due to inadequate capacity and knowledge of intellectual property law by the justice sector which affect the ruling of infringement cases.

Rwanda is a party to the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT).